Southern California -- this just in

Girlfriend of alleged mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger to plead guilty

March 13, 2012 | 9:45
am

The girlfriend of alleged mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger has agreed to plead guilty to various charges related to helping him avoid capture for 16 years.

Catherine E. Greig will plead guilty to conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud, according to records filed in federal court Monday. The agreement was reported earlier by the Boston Globe.

Greig faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine for each charge, according to the agreement, which she signed last week.

According to a statement of facts included in the plea, Greig fled the Boston area with Bulger in February 1995.

Later that year, they stayed for a time at a Best Western Hotel in Holtsville, N.Y., where they used the names Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Baxter. During their exile they also traveled to Louisiana, Chicago and New York, according to the documents.

Greig admitted that while living in Santa Monica, where she and Bulger shared an apartment for several years while posing as Carol and Charles Gasko, she had multiple drivers licenses, Social Security cards and other types of identification belonging to real people. She said her only source of income during that time was cash given to her by Bulger.

"I also told false cover stories to people we met in Santa Monica in order to conceal our true identities from law enforcement," she said in the statement.